Award Winners 2023
Craft & Design
Graduate Exhibition Award 2023, Best in Show ・ Madison Solda
Graduate Exhibition Award 2023, Honourable Mention ・ Helene Hadfield and Jiaying Xu
Angela Martin Award ・ Amie Lee
Heather Whitton Award ・ Natalie Rebmann
Curiosity Award ・ Flora May Chubbs
William & Mary Corcoran Craft Award ・ Mariana Bolaños
William & Mary Corcoran Craft Award ・ Madison Knott
William & Mary Corcoran Craft Award ・ Grace Im
William & Mary Corcoran Craft Award ・ Leah Phillips
William & Mary Corcoran Award ・ Bram Locknick
Ceramics
Clifford Scholarship ・ April Tompa
Joan Bennett Award ・ Dana Dallal
Anita Miniats-Hausmanis Memorial Award ・ Amie Lee
Fusion Technical Achievement Award ・ Ailia Rizvi
Fusion Community Involvement Award ・ Alice Dawson
Fusion Award of Merit ・ Diana DiNatale
The Bruce Cochrane Clay Club Award ・ Silvia Tagusagawa
Skydiver Clay Club Award ・ Marina Van Raay
Mississauga Potters' Guild Summer Studio Award ・ Erin Merkley
Mississauga Potters' Guild Summer Studio Award ・ Natalia Lopez
Crack Pot Ceramic Student Award ・ Jolie Neeve
Tucker's Pottery Supplies Award ・ Veronica Sarata
Pottery Supply House Award ・ Sarah Johnston
Sugar Maples Scholarship award ・ Monica Protacio
Sugar Maples Scholarship award ・ Emma Bickers
Sugar Maples Scholarship award ・ Nilou Ghaemi
Medalta Summer Residency Award ・ Heather Davidson
Furniture
Brian Dines Memorial Award ・ Riley Turner
Robert Welsh Award Year 1 ・ Galen Lau
Robert Welsh Award Year 2 ・ Lindsey Ainsworth
Stephen Harris Award Year 3 ・ Kayla Della-Nebbia
Stephen Harris Award Year 4 ・ Joel Galenkamp
SPECtacular Excellence Award ・ Hyungjin Park
Robert Diemert Award ・ Sarah Gomes
Robert Diemert Award ・ Nicole Werker
Robert Diemert Award ・ Bailey Rockell
Sheridan Student Union Award of Excellence ・ Ian MacGregor
Furniture Faculty Award ・ Zaerah Truss
Furniture Faculty Award ・ Erin Bukowski
Furniture Faculty Award ・ Alison Postma
Furniture Faculty Award ・ Nora Langill
Furniture Faculty Award ・ Ian Bawtinheimer
Festool Furniture Design Award ・ Joel Galenkamp
Glass
Megan Kenny Memorial Award ・ Wenhe Lu
Daniel Crichton Glass Memorial Scholarship ・ Eleni Scherlowski
Bonnie Block Memorial Award ・ Coley Lowden
FUSION Technical Achievement Award ・ Jiaying Xu
FUSION Community Involvement Award ・ Jennifer Mediratta
FUSION Award of Merit ・ Bram Locknick
Pottery Supply House Award ・ Kyung Hoon Lee
Colour Fusion Award ・ Carly Eveline
Nortel Award ・ Natalie Rebmann
Cutting Edge Award ・ Yanick Robichaud
Glen Williams Glassblowing Award ・ Lucy Marinig
Glen Williams Glassblowing Award ・ Jimmy Esp
Pilchuck Award ・ Jennifer Mediratta
Gaffer Award ・ Sarah Carlisle
Industrial Design
Integrated Display Group Award ・ Devya Patel
Award of Excellence ・ Roua Kamel
Award of Excellence ・ Anna Keefe
Award of Excellence ・ Sung HaChu
Award of Excellence ・ Sita Homidova
Award of Excellence ・ Malina Yu
Award of Excellence ・ Esperanza Hurtado
Award of Excellence ・ Rhiannon Walker
Award of Excellence ・ Lauren Hall
Sheridan Student Union Award of Excellence ・ Adam Grace
Keilhauer Industrial Design Excellence Award ・ Anna Keefe
Textiles
J.V. O'Brien Award ・ Landon Carletti
East Toronto Quilters Guild Excellence in Stitch Award ・ Landon Carletti
Anu Raina Excellence in Surface Design Award ・ Siqi Li
Textiles Faculty Award of Merit 1st year ・ Karen Huyhn
Textiles Faculty Award of Merit 2nd year ・ Morgan Hordyk
Textiles Faculty Award of Merit 3rd year ・ Betsy Pelletier
Textiles Faculty Award of Merit 4th year ・ Madison Casalino
Olivia Mae Sinclair Advocacy Award ・ Dahri Koopman
G&S Dye Material Award ・ Dahri Koopman
Textile Museum of Canada Award ・ Natalie Nasrallah
Maiwa Handprints Excellence in Natural Dyes Award ・ Kayleigh Marshall
Brand Felt Award ・ Viktoria Shirk
Needlework Award ・ Alex O'Leary
Needlework Award ・ Julia Deminski
Japanese Paper Place Award ・ Ilene Atkins
Art Fabrics Award ・ Siqi Li
Camilla Valley Farms Award ・ Hazel Mann
Screentec Award ・ Madison Casalino
SDA Outstanding Student Award ・ Madison Casalino
We are deeply grateful to our supporters for your commitment to celebrate student success. Your support fuels our students’ passion, creativity and talent, inspiring the next generation of artists and designers.
Anonymous
Anu Raina Designs
Art Fabrics
Joan Bennett
Bonnie Block Memorial Award Fund
Brand Felt
Camilla Valley Farms
John & Shirley Clifford
Colour Fusion
William and Mary Corcoran Craft Fund held by Ontario Arts Foundation
Crack Pot Studio
Daniel Crichton Award Fund
Cutting Edge
Robert Diemert Award Fund
Brian Dines Memorial Award Fund
East Toronto Quilters Guild
Festool Canada Inc.
Peter Fleming Award Fund
FUSION: The Ontario Clay and Glass Association
G&S Dye and Accessories Ltd.
The Glass Art Association of Canada
Glen Williams Studio
Janelle Guthrie
Thea Haines
Stephen Harris Award Fund
Integrated Display Group
Japanese Paper Place
Keilhauer
Megan Kenny Award Fund
Maiwa Handprints
Cathy & Michael Martin
Medalta
Rachel Miller
Anita Miniats-Hausmanis Memorial Fund
Mississauga Potters' Guild
Julia Monorchio
Needlework
Nortel
J.V. O'Brien Award Fund
Pottery Supply House
Theresa Restemeyer
Screentec Corporation
Sheridan Student Union
Olivia Mae Sinclair
Spec Furniture
Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts
Textile Museum of Canada
Tucker's Pottery Supplies
Robert Welsh
Heather Whitton Memorial Award Fund
2023 Highlights
The year 2022/2023 in the Bachelor of Craft & Design Program has embarked on new adventures and reinstated many of our annual events. Even though we continued to work in the studios throughout the pandemic, many of our gatherings and activities were put on hold over the last few years. In September 2022 we began to see so many phenomenal opportunities come back into play.
COMING TOGETHER AROUND FOOD!
Our faculty and students build a wonderful community within our program. Quite often, this happens around food! We started the school year with a big outdoor welcome back BBQ. And we continued to come together throughout the year with multiple potluck dinners, pizza parties and Chinese Hot Pot!
Studio Faculty Jin Won Han, Simon Ford and Thea Haines admire the chef’s hat of Ceramic Studio Head Laura Kukkee. Together the team cooked up hundreds of hotdogs for everyone in the program to enjoy.
Students from all years got to meet each other and do some maximum relaxing in the sun just outside of our studios during the welcome back BBQ.
This year, we hosted the first Hot Pot Party to celebrate the lunar new year since 2020. Students came together to share a meal and experience the tradition of Chinese Hot Pot; it has been an annual tradition since 2018, and one that we were happy to have reignited this year.
WHERE DID WE GO?
This year, we could begin to travel and meet in groups again and so we did - LOTS! Students, from all years of study, took advantage of the many field trips available. We travelled by chartered bus, public transit, and carpool to experience exciting places and immerse ourselves in inspiring works of Art, Craft, and Design.
Corning Museum In New York State
In November of 2022, thirty-five students from all years of the program as well as several faculty members, chartered a bus to visit the Corning Museum, Library, and Studios in New York State. Students were able to see amazing glass works on display, meet and network with the glass community during an opening reception, and build a deeper connection with the history of glass.
Each fall, students in 2nd and 3rd year across all five Craft and Design studios participate in an intensive collaborative design course called Interdisciplinary Project. Students are divided into 20 teams; each team is comprised of members from a mix of studios and a mix of years, and each team collaborates over the course of one intensive week on a project responding to a design brief outlining an annually selected theme.
This year, we were fortunate to be invited for a second time to link our Interdisciplinary Project to the Winter Stations design competition.
NCECA Conference In Cincinnati Ohio
Students visiting an exhibition during the NCECA conference
In March, the Clay Club hosted a 4-day trip to Cincinnati for 38 ceramics students to attend the National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference. The group travelled by chartered bus and stayed in the heart of Cincinnati. The Conference is attended by artists, designers, ceramics educators, academics, and gallerists from all over the world. Students can attend lectures, demonstrations, exhibitions, and see the latest developments from ceramic tool and equipment specialists. Our students also meet and network with hundreds of representatives from schools and artist residencies that offer numerous opportunities for post-graduation.
Students on the way to Cincinnati Ohio to attend the NCECA 2023 conference
GTA Galleries And Museums
Each year second-year students choose a piece from the collection at the Textile Museum of Canada to use as inspiration for a large-scale print design. Here they are in the museum’s archives.
We visited exhibitions at the Textile Museum of Canada, Fibreworks 2023 at Cambridge Galleries, Canadian Modern at the Royal Ontario Museum, and took in the historic trade union banners at the Worker’s Arts & Heritage Museum. On most of these visits, students were given exceptional access to the gallery or museum’s storage and archives where they viewed pieces in the collection that the public may not get the opportunity to see.
Several students and faculty members will be visiting the Glass Art Society (GAS) conference which takes place in Detroit this year (June 7-10). This conference is held annually and is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Our own Faculty Jin Won Han will be lecturing and demonstrating her skills during this conference!
Fourth year textile students were able to request specific works be brought out from vast collections and archives at Cambridge Galleries. They began their research journey by getting up close and personal with the works of Anna Torma (back) and Suzanne Carlsen (front).
BLOWN AWAY
Now in its 4th Season, Blown Away — the glass-blowing reality show featuring students from the Bachelor of Craft and Design (Glass) program as assistants — earned three nominations at the Canadian Screen Awards: Best Reality/Competition Program or Series, Best Direction, Reality/Competition and Best Sound in a Lifestyle, Reality or Entertainment production.
Photo Credit: David Leyes
Our graduates, who participate as gaffers and assistants in the Netflix series, gain unbelievable experience working with some of the best glass artists in the world while also experiencing the fast pace of a competitive television series.
Photo Credit: David Leyes
Photo Credit: David Leyes
Blown away continues to work with our Graduates who appear on the show, as well as our Glass Studio Technologist – Jason Cornish as an advisor and our Glass Studio Head Koen Vanderstukken as the series consultant.
INDUSTRY COLLABORATIONS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROJECTS
Thunder Bay Library Indigenous Knowledge Centre
Snowshoe walk with Animikii-waajiw (Mt. McKay) in the backdrop (Photo credit: Peter Fleming)
Coming off the success of the 2020 community engagement project, third-year furniture students have partnered again with library staff and a diverse group of Indigenous community members to expand, reimagine and co-design furniture for the Indigenous Knowledge Centre in Thunder Bay Public Library’s Waverley branch.
In early January, students spent a three-day weekend in Thunder Bay sharing meals and conversations, building relationships and trust with these design partners. Students partook in smudgings and land-based activities such as snowshoeing on Animikii-waajiw (Mt. McKay) on Fort William First Nation led by local Knowledge Keeper, Sheila Decorte. The weekend also involved co-design activities where students listened to these partners and gathered information with the goal of co-creating a welcoming space that truly reflects the vision and values of the community.
This information provided the foundation for the concepts that students continued to develop in subsequent weeks back at the college. The refined concepts were then presented back to the project partners as scale models and digital presentations in mid-February and were met with resoundingly positive feedback. The fabrication of the final pieces is now well underway and scheduled to be installed in the library in mid-June.
Model making (L to R) Kayla Della-Nebbia, Perry Perreault, Andrea Matasawagan, Michelle Foran, Beverly Sabourin
(L to R) Students Riley Turner and David Cobus taking in the sage joinery advice of the project’s professional mentor, Peter Fleming
Throughout the process, students have benefited from a real-world client experience, and community members significantly guide this space's design. Community empowerment and collaborative skill building will undoubtedly be project outcomes as valuable as the furniture itself.
Yonge Street Mission
Nora Langill and Alison Postma (L to R) discussing the fabrication process of the bookshelves for the TBLIKC
Over the past summer (2022), furniture students, Nora Langill, Neda Moshg Foroush, and Alison Postma helped to fabricate furniture for the Yonge Street Mission. This is an opportunity that our faculty Connie Chisholm (through her social enterprise, Codesign) has spearheaded for the past two summers which enables students to satisfy their co-op placement while providing custom furniture to this worthwhile organization.
Long-serving faculty member Connie Chisholm continues to run her social enterprise Codesign, acting as a liaison on community engagement projects for various organizations and schools. Connie has been running these projects within the Furniture Studio now for the past thirteen years. This past summer Connie’s commitment to this important work was recognized by Sheridan College with the Community Impact People Award.
Canadian Tire
Third year Industrial Design students worked together on an Industry Project with Canadian Tire. Students Anna Keefe, Sita Homidova and Lily Chang collaborated on a project called Work Bench Wand, A worktable dust extraction accessory. Canadian Tire will be developing and producing the project for their consumer products division.
Creative Matters
Students in Textiles worked in groups on projects led by studio head Thea Haines in collaboration with Creative Matters Inc., a Toronto based floor and wall covering design house founded in 1988. Students were provided input and support from Madeleine Baigent and Anna Panosyan – both integral figures at Creative Matters. Students took inspiration from rugs designed by Creative Matters and developed a series of designs incorporating a combination of techniques, such as tufting, needle punch, print (digital or screen printing), dyeing, felting, embroidery, and fabric manipulation.
A page from one of the groups process documents. Students created samples using the new rug tufting equipment in the textile studio.
Students investigate the samples at Creative Matters while asking questions and learning from the company’s designers.
FUNDRAISING AND CLUBS
Many of our studios have clubs that strive to enrich our C&D community and provide extra special experiences for our students. These clubs organize fun and memorable fundraising events that any student (and in some cases alumni too) can participate in. The money raised goes towards field trips, visiting artists, end of year awards, social events and more.
At Home In Bronte Muskoka Chair Painting
First year student Thomas painting a chair in the ceramic studio.
For the second time, many Craft & Design students applied to participate in the At Home in Bronte Muskoka Chair Project organized by the Bronte BIA. This is a fundraising opportunity for the studios but also provides every successful student applicant with $300.00 to creatively paint a Muskoka type Chair for display and use in downtown Bronte.
Our glass studio technologist Jason Cornish helped organize this on behalf of our students to ensure everyone had all the paint and supplies they needed, allowing them to focus on having fun with their chairs.
Chair designs reflected the harbour location, fishing village heritage, outdoor sports & activities, cultural celebrations, local floral or fauna, and more! Our students painted 16 chairs this year.
Collaborative Textile Studio Prints
Students from across all 4 years in the textile studio collaborated to design two different all-over print designs! First-year students worked together to print 16 metres of their collectively designed yardage. Plans are in the works to create products for future fundraising events.
First year students work together to pull repeat prints in the Textile Studio
Clay Club Fundraising
Each fall, the Clay Club at Sheridan invites alumni, current and former faculty to come together and make pots over a weekend in the ceramic studio. Working side-by-side with current students, visitors to the studio do impromptu demonstrations for students, reconnect with each other, and get to know current students in the program. This year’s event produced over 500 pieces!
Impromptu demos at mug and bowl-o-rama. here is Emma Smith demonstrating for students
Annual Clay Club Mug and Bowl Winter sale, Trafalgar campus. So many pots!
EXHIBITIONS
Students in all years are given opportunities to exhibit their work in venues on and off campus. Here are just some of the exciting trade shows and galleries that our students displayed their work in.
Testing, Testing!
Many of the plants harvested from the Textile Studio’s Natural Dye Garden are displayed in jars in front of a wall of fabric swatches dyed with the plant material. Textile students learn to accurately dye a rainbow of colours using both natural and synthetic dyes in their 2nd and 3rd years of the program.
This winter the C&D program put together a show of work by students in all studios. The theme of the exhibition focused on the research and work that leads students to make their profound work. Each studio uses different words for this: iteration, testing, process, sampling, trying, failing, modeling, discovery, play, and design process. The exhibition took place in the Trafalgar Gallery in the Craft & Design AA Wing.
Interior Design Show (IDS 2023)
Caption: Furniture students have their work displayed at IDS. Here is Alison Postma’s cabinet (foreground) and Madison Knott’s switch and outlet covers (background)
This past January, four furniture students (fourth-year student, Madison Knott, and three third-year students, Kayla Della-Nebbia, Michelle Foran and Alison Postma) showed work at Toronto’s Interior Design Show as part of the show’s ‘Prototype’ exhibition.
Gardiner Museum
Group critique and discussion with Sequoia Miller, Chief Curator of the Museum
This year’s graduating class exhibited pieces from their capstone project in their exhibition, “Until Next Time” at the Gardiner Museum in April 2023. The group was our largest ever, 15 students making up the group. Students worked closely with the museum in all aspects of the preparation and mounting of a museum exhibition at one of the best venues to show ceramics in Canada.
Capstone exhibition, installation view
Sandra Ainsley Gallery
Each year our Graduating Glass students exhibit their work at the Sandra Ainsley Gallery and this year their exhibition opens on May 13th, 2023.
Textile Museum Of Canada
Our graduating Textile students will be exhibiting their work at the Textile Museum of Cananda from May 27 to June 25, 2023. The opening for this reception will be Saturday May 27th, 2023
ACIDO Rocket Competition
Concept Poster for Breathii by Emily Hayhurst
The Association of Chartered Industrial Designers of Ontario (ACIDO) hosts “Rocket” – a competition for Ontario’s graduating industrial designers. Graduates nominated at the top of their class from institutions including Sheridan College have the opportunity to pitch their final year thesis projects to a jury of select industry professionals with the top winners announced at the Rocket Awards Ceremony.
Seven of our ID students will be participating in the 2023 competition including Grace Im, Stefan Alexander, Devya Patel, Brayden Popke, Tergel Saikhanbayer, Akbar Anwari, and Roua Kamel.
Also, at Rocket this year, will be the winners of the last 3 Rocket competitions that were held virtually. To give those students an equal experience Rocket is inviting those winners to show their work. Therefore, Quinn MacGowan and Clayton Joseph who placed 2nd and 3rd in 2020 will have their projects there as will Emily Hayhurst who won 1st Place, ACIDO Rocket Market Ready Award (designforce) for her project Breathii: Incentive Spirometer, a Device for Respiratory Muscle Training
VISITING PROFESSIONALS
Our Craft & Design studios invited an astounding roster of professional artists and designers this year to visit our students and share their knowledge via presentations, lectures, workshops, and critiques. Many of these leaders are also graduates of the Craft & Design program.
Here are some of the folks we invited to our studios:
Caroline Forde - Alumni, class of 2015, Textile Artist
Cody Ramseyer – Alumni, class of 2022, Furniture Maker, Fogo Island Workshops
Dayna Gedney – Alumni, class of 2013, Director, Hamilton Craft Studios
Emma Smith – Alumni, class of 2013, Ceramics Artist, Performer. Writer
Giovanni Buda – Alumni, class of 2018, Lampworker and Glass Artist
Helen Weston and Thomas Southmayd - Managers of Creative Studios at Artscape Daniels Launchpad
Joon Hee Kim – Alumni, class of 2015, and this year’s Ceramic Studio Visiting Artist
Julianna Biernacki – Hamilton based Painting and Rug Tufting Artist
Juliana Scherzer – Alumni, class of 2019, Textile Artist, and current artist in Residence, Harbourfront Centre
Kate Duncan – Furniture Designer/Maker, Kate Duncan Design
Katrina Tompkins – Alumni, class of 2009 Owner/Operator, Finefolk
Lauren Reed – Alumni, class of 2013, Founder, Lauren Reed Design
Lucas Brancalion – Alumni, class of 2007, Co-founder, Brothers and Sons
Melanie Egan - Director of Craft & Design at Harbourfront Centre
Micah Donovan – Artist, Museum Installer, and member of Food Jammers
Nadira Narine – Alumni, class of 2018, Glass Artist, and current artist in Residence, Harbourfront Centre
Nathan Clarke – Alumni class of 2015, Director of Craft and Production, Coolican and Company
Nicole Coon – Alumni, class of 2020, Junior Designer, Yabu Pushelberg
Peter Fleming – Former Furniture Studio Head at Sheridan College
Robin Speke – Owner/Operator, Speke Klein
Robyn Wilcox - Head of Programming, DesignTO, and Curator, Craft Ontario
Sami Tsang – Alumni, class of 2019, Ceramic Artist, and current artist in Residence, Harbourfront Centre
Sequoia Miller - Chief Curator, Gardiner Museum
Suzanne Carte - Senior Curator, Art Gallery of Burlington
Tanya Lyons – Alumni, class of 1996, Glass Artist
Vicki Clough – Residency Coordinator, Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design
Capstone critique with visiting critic Suzanne Carte. Pictured: Dana Dallal, Janet Macpherson, Suzanne Carte
Visiting artist Emma Smith joined us for a day of duelling demos with our studio technologist, Duncan Aird. Emma and Duncan are both alumni of Sheridan Ceramics program as well as being colleagues in kiln-building.
Duncan joined our program this year as the full-time studio technologist after Hugh Douglas-Murray retired from the position in August 2022.
Capstone critique with visiting critic Micah Donovan. Pictured: Alice Dawson, Gord Thompson, Micah Donovan, Jess Riva-Cooper, Cathleen Nicholson, Marc Egan
WHAT A YEAR!
After nearly three years, the Furniture Studio’s new dust collection system has now been installed and is running. The new system is housed in a newly built structure outside the Furniture Studio’s South Bench Room and accommodates our briquetting machine which compresses dust and chips into pellets that are burned as heating fuel.
As you can see, so many wonderful things happened this year. Our students are wonderful, positive, and inspiring. They are the reason that the faculty, techs, and administrators in our program love our jobs! Our students are the BEST!
A special THANK YOU to our studio technologists who work tirelessly to make our state-of-the-art studio spaces the absolute best in the country. So much of what they do benefits our students each day! Thanks also to our Program Coordinator Gord Thompson for guiding faculty and students with the kindest heart. It is because of Gord’s steady and wise leadership that many of our end of year festivities take place. Gord worked alongside our studio Faculty Heads as well as Sheridan Gallery Staff; Valentyna Onisko, Alex Nagy, and Jamie Owen, to help organize our end of year Grad Show at the Trafalgar Gallery and our Annual Tulip Ceremony for graduates and award winners. This was one of our largest graduating cohorts in many years and Gord helped ensure it was a year full of successes.
And while I am at it, thank you to Sally McCubbin for designing and installing this amazing online graduate show site. It has been a pleasure pouring over and soaking in this amazing graduate work with you!
Congratulations to everyone for making this a memorable and enjoyable year, and a special Congratulations to this year’s graduating class.
You are exceptional!
Kate Jackson,
Part-time Faculty, Craft & Design Program
Studio Technologists Jason Cornish, Christina Pupo, Janelle Guthrie and Textile Studio Head Thea Haines use their telepathic magic to coordinate their outfits and their Tims.
Stefan Alexander
BIO
Stefan Alexander is a Toronto based industrial designer specializing in 3D modeling and texturing. His love for exploring the possibilities that the 3D medium affords pushes his projects in development of form and function, edging into the realm of engineering. He hopes to work in game development designing digital assets, utilizing his accumulated skills in modeling and texturing in the future.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
ARMADILLO PCA
The Armadillo is a safety tool addressing the phenomenon of voids in the event of structural collapse. Search and rescue relies on voids in rubble, allowing for the survival of entrapped victims. By addressing the risks involved in the practice of confined space rescue I came to the conclusion that the stabilization of a wreck is imperative for rescue workers and victims alike, this is the basis of my design. The Armadillo PCA is a specialized stabilization tool, utilizing a simple expanding arc meant to warp under the downward force and lateral tension of the rubble overhead, reinforcing the supportive structure by forcing the teeth into an interlocking position, helping stabilize the void for a safe extraction.
FEATURED Work
Title: Armadillo PCA
Dimensions: 26 x 10 x 7 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: 3D Printed - PLA
Title: Armadillo PCA
Dimensions: 26 x 10 x 7 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: 3D Printed - PLA
CONTACT
STEFAN ALEXANDER
He/Him
Akbar Anwari
BIO
An industrial designer out of Sheridan College - Akbar works towards finding ways to both improve upon and further define solutions for design issues. Having an interest in human interaction and ergonomics, Akbar aims to implement ways in which our everyday lives can be made more comfortable in fields ranging from sports equipment, medical tools, household appliances, and more.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
BOXAID
Boxaid is a new form of boxing headgear designed to provide a greater deal of support and protection during sparring sessions, so as to reduce the amount of head trauma that is so often accumulated during those times. Utilizing a new padding concept not seen currently in any market competitors, while also using an alternative more sustainable approach to the outer wrapping leather, Boxaid is intended to provide users with a safer and more eco-friendly alternative to current market options. Seeing as the careers of boxers are often times cut short due to the accumulation of head trauma during sparring - and the climax thereafter in matches - the use of a better headgear system is of utmost necessity to save both their careers and their lives.
FEATURED Work
Title: Boxaid
Dimensions: 7.5 x 8 x 9.5 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Blender 3D
Title: Boxaid
Dimensions: 7.5 x 8 x 9.5 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Blender 3D
Title: Boxaid
Dimensions: 7.5 x 8 x 9.5 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: TPU Filament 3D Printed
Title: Boxaid
Dimensions: 7.5 x 8 x 9.5 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: TPU Filament 3D Printed
CONTACT
AKBAR ANWARI
He/Him
Tatiana Argueta Garcia
BIO
Tatiana is an emerging artist and recent graduate of Sheridan College. Taking inspiration from nature, her work focuses on floriography, the language of flowers, and aims to show how simple objects can hold meaning and significance, transcribing each flowers translated meaning into clay vessels, using surface and form to bring a voice to a silent and forgotten language.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
FLORIOGRAPHY
Inspired by Floriography, the symbolic language of flowers, I create sculptural ceramic pieces that convey emotion and meaning through my interpretation of surface and form. Using motifs from nature to inspire the form of my pieces, I explore a botanical and floral language, transcribing each flower's translated meanings and expressions into clay vessels. My pieces consist of two complementary ideas that work together; an individual form to highlight the diversity and overall expression of floral elements; and the portrayal of emotion interchanged through simple objects Through naturalistic and detailed modelling, I draw the viewer in to contemplate the symbol of each flower, and to interpret the meaning and emotions associated with it.
FEATURED Work
Title: Garden
Dimensions: 25 x 30 x 30 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: stoneware, porcelain, slips
Title: Deceivious Datura
Dimensions: 25 x 10 x 15 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: stoneware, porcelain, slips
Title: Amaryllis
Dimensions: 25 x 10 x 15 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: stoneware, porcelain, slips
Title: Orange Blossoms, detail
Dimensions: 25 x 10 x 15 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: stoneware, porcelain, slips
Title: Protea, detail
Dimensions: 25 x 10 x 15 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: stoneware, porcelain, slips
Ian Bawtinheimer
BIO
Ian Bawtinheimer is an artist and designer out of Victoria, BC and a recent graduate of Sheridan's Furniture Design program. His work blends sophisticated linear furniture forms with off kilter, child like moments. Incorporating themes of individuality, function, the home, expression, and honesty, he creates one off pieces with identifiable motifs that run throughout his body of work.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
CAUSEWAY
Causeway came about from the combined thoughts on how to pay homage to the craft, people, and landscape of my home province of British Columbia as well as personal reflection on my path that ultimately brought me to Sheridan College. A pivotal moment in my life was working at the Causeway Marina downtown Victoria. A job filled with odd ball obsessive sailors and day drinking yacht dads. A job that really taught me the patience of understanding, fixing, problem solving, getting my hands dirty, and ultimately the idea of "How Things Work". Causeway is a refined furniture collection that uses nautical references to pay homage to BC and a job that showed me the joys of these qualities that overlap so heavily with furniture design.
FEATURED Work
Title: Coastal Light and Sailor's Chair
Dimensions: 61 x 8 , 32 x 24 x 24 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Douglas Fir, Dacron. Douglas Fir, Canvas
Title: Coastal Light
Dimensions: 61 x 8 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Douglas Fir, Dacron
Title: Sailor's Chair
Dimensions: 32 x 24 x 24 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Douglas Fir, Canvas
Title: Coastal Light and Sailor's Chair
Dimensions: 61 x 8 , 32 x 24 x 24 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Douglas Fir, Dacron. Douglas Fir, Canvas
Jared Baylon
BIO
Jared Baylon is a curious person who learns best by doing and working physically. He learns about his materials by touching and exploring the texture. Jared’s first experience in a wood shop was in his high school classes, he was lucky to have great teachers that guided him toward the arts and crafts. Jared works primarily with solid woods and sheet goods. He works to come up with new and interesting designs that propose new challenges. Jared loves working out technical obstacles and finding ways to make his designs cohesive and functional.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
HARU COLLECTION
Japan has a long and rich history of woodworking. Everything they create has a purpose and meaning behind the design. Jared wanted to create a series of objects that represent the qualities of Japanese techniques. The word Haru means spring in Japanese, and this collection displays elements of spring. Cherry blossoms are synonymous with spring in Japan as a seasonal flower. It has been used in paintings, plays, and literature. Each object in the collection has a cherry blossom design integrated into the piece. The Sakura Fubuki Desk has cherry blossom inlay, and both the Hana Akari Lantern and Hanami Screen have Cherry blossom vinyl on the Shoji paper. The objects are designed to give off a feeling of warmth and comfort through the natural characteristics of the material. The Hana Akari Lantern carries the tone over with the warm light shining through the Shoji Paper.
FEATURED Work
Title: Sakura Fubuki Desk
Dimensions: 56 x 24 x 30 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Walnut, Hard Maple, Cherry and oil finish
Title: Sakura Fubuki Desk Cabinet
Dimensions: 16 x 20 x 25 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Walnut, Hard Maple, Cherry and oil finish
Title: ana Akari Lantern
Dimensions: 16 x 7 x 7 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Walnut, Hard Maple, Cherry, Shoji paper and oil finish
Title: Hanami Screen
Dimensions: 30.5 x 18.5 x 0.75 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Walnut, Hard Maple, Cherry, Shoji paper and oil finish
Title: Haru Collection
Dimensions: 56 x 24 x 30 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Walnut, Hard Maple, Cherry and oil finish
Emma Bickers
BIO
Emma Bickers explores intimate connections through visual storytelling on earthenware figurative vessels. Her body of work depicts the vulnerable theme of sapphic identity, capturing tender emotions and loving narratives on her surfaces. Originally planning on becoming an illustrator, she found interest in ceramics after taking an introductory course. She now combines the two to create colourful illustrations that decorate the surface of large organic vessels.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
COME OUT INTO THE GARDEN
I explore intimate connections through visual storytelling on earthenware figurative vessels. My body of work depicts the vulnerable theme of sapphic identity, capturing tender emotions and loving narratives on my surfaces. The colourful illustrations applied with stained terra sigillata offer lighthearted interpretations of loaded narratives. This levity allows me to capture an essential part of my character and to share sensitive topics that I guard preciously.
FEATURED Work
Title: Carmilla Series
Dimensions: 47 x 26 x 23 , 70 x 46 x 52 , 68 x 42 x 51 cm
Year: 2022
Materials: Earthenware, stained Terra Sigillata
Title: Garden of Eden Series
Dimensions: 88 x 30 x 28 , 92 x 36 x 32 , 89 x 39 x 35 cm
Year: 2021
Materials: Earthenware, stained Terra Sigillata
Title: Pandora
Dimensions: 29 x 17 x 12 cm
Year: 2023
Materials: Earthenware, stained Terra Sigillata
Title: Garden Teaset
Dimensions: 28 x 20 x 15 , 12 x 10 x 9 , 11 x 10 x 9 cm
Year: 2021
Materials: Earthenware, stained Terra Sigillata, Glaze
CONTACT
EMMA BICKERS
She/Her
Mariana Bolaños Inclán
BIO
I am a Mexican sculptor based in Tkaronto. My body of work is based on the stories of where I come from and who I am as a woman and as an immigrant. I use references to pre-hispanic symbols and Mexican popular culture to represent these stories in figurative sculptures. Focusing on art with a social purpose, I work as a facilitator in community programs with children, women and newcomers around Tkaronto and the GTA.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
FROM SEEDS
We come from nature, from el maíz. Like seeds buried in the ground, the missing and murdered women in Canada and Mexico emerge to bring life. Nature’s cycles of life and death are symbols of resilience. I make my work with a voice that speaks about injustice and pain, but also endurance and power; here, I am able to convey the stories of where I come from and who I am as a woman and as an immigrant. My experience with ceramics began in Mexico extracting clay directly from nature. Drawing on these memories has made the language of the raw material important in my work. Paying close attention to the roundness of the form, the malleability of clay and the building of textures on the surface, my work alludes to life and fertility.
FEATURED Work
Title: From Seeds
Dimensions: 24 x 30 x 24 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Stoneware and slips
Title: Head with Crown
Dimensions: 12 x 12 x 8 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Stoneware and slips
Title: From Seeds
Dimensions: 24 x 30 x 24 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Stoneware and slips
Title: From Seeds, detail
Dimensions: 24 x 30 x 24 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Stoneware and slips
Title: Hojas
Dimensions: 5 x 10 x 6 in.
Year: 2022
Materials: Stoneware and slips
Landon Carletti
BIO
Landon Carletti is a Canadian textile maker and designer with a focus on using scraps of collected fabric and stitch methods to work sustainably. His work centers on the idea of fusion, specifically of materials and concepts and aesthetics.
Born to parents who immigrated from El Salvador, he is the youngest of 3 and the first generation of his family to be born Canadian. He grew up in Mississauga and is currently based there. With a Diploma in Theatre Production from Humber College he found his passion working with costumes and garment construction and went on to specialize in textiles at Sheridan College. His identity has evolved over the course of his life and continues to be shaped by his explorations in life.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
THE HOCKEY RAVE JERSEY
They say it takes a village to achieve a goal. In the case of The Hockey Rave Jersey, that saying is an understatement. In this work, Landon Carletti uses the iconic status of the hockey jersey to represent and celebrate how his experience of being in the Hockey, Queer and Rave communities have shaped him into who he is today. The experience of being made by 3 such different worlds led him to highlight the contrasting differences while also examining what makes them similar. When viewing this piece, Landon urges the viewer to think about the word community and the experience of emotion in humans across identities. The Hockey Rave Jersey comes into the world at a time when transgender existence is fighting to be seen, accepted and respected, not just in sports, but on a fundamental level of simply wanting to belong in community.
FEATURED Work
Title: The Hockey Rave Jersey, detail
Dimensions: 65 in. (arm span) , 25 in. (torso top to bottom)
Year: 2023
Materials: Kantha stitch, crazy quilt patchwork, sewing
Title: The Hockey Rave Jersey
Dimensions: 65 in. (arm span) , 25 in. (torso top to bottom)
Year: 2023
Materials: Kantha stitch, crazy quilt patchwork, sewing
Title: The Hockey Rave Jersey
Dimensions: 65 in. (arm span) , 25 in. (torso top to bottom)
Year: 2023
Materials: Kantha stitch, crazy quilt patchwork, sewing
Title: The Hockey Rave Jersey, detail
Dimensions: 65 in. (arm span) , 25 in. (torso top to bottom)
Year: 2023
Materials: Kantha stitch, crazy quilt patchwork, sewing
Title: The Hockey Rave Jersey, detail
Dimensions: 65 in. (arm span) , 25 in. (torso top to bottom)
Year: 2023
Materials: Kantha stitch, crazy quilt patchwork, sewing
Madison Casalino
BIO
Madison Casalino is an avid natural dyer and fibre artist from Burlington, ON. Her interest in natural colours and fibres was piqued during her time at Sheridan, spending her summer breaks on her porch filing mason jars with local plants to test new and exciting botanical colours. Wool remains her favourite material to work with, admiring it for its texture, warmth, sustainability, compatibility with natural colours, and its myriad of applications. Her love of pastel colour, especially pinks, blues and orange, reflect her carefree nature and desire to inspire joy to combat the increasing bleakness of the current social climate.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
EPHEMERAL
Ephemeral is a naturally dyed patchwork jacket that focuses on transitivity and the threatened diversity of Ontario’s native plant species. Natural dyes, biodegradable materials and spring blooms all exhibit delicate beauty that fades away over exposure to time and the elements. The work conveys this delicacy using soft spring colours made with botanicals such as cochineal, indigo and marigold, fine silk embroidery and soft woven wool all wrapped up in the warm embrace of a jacket. The native blooms depicted on the jacket highlight the importance of maintaining Ontario’s biodiversity and the dangers of planting invasive species.
FEATURED Work
Title: Ephemeral
Dimensions: 26.5 x 14 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Wool, silk, cotton & wood
Title: Ephemeral
Dimensions: 26.5 x 14 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Wool, silk, cotton & wood
Title: Ephemeral, detail
Dimensions: 26.5 x 14 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Wool, silk, cotton & wood
Title: Ephemeral, detail
Dimensions: 26.5 x 14 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Wool, silk, cotton & wood
Title: Ephemeral, detail
Dimensions: 26.5 x 14 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Wool, silk, cotton & wood
Gabriel Chimienti
BIO
Gabriel’s background in fine arts is regularly implemented into his design work. With a focus on playful, organic, and high-quality design, he frequently uses metals and wood in his projects to create exciting and elegant forms. Gabriel greatly enjoys visible mechanisms and the visualization of how things work, this is something he frequently strives for within his own work.
To Gabriel, design is about creating something with the perfect balance of beauty and function, each as important as the other. He enjoys experimentation with varying machines and manufacturing processes, this brings a level of fresh experimentation to his work.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
TORII
For my Capstone, I aimed to explore the intersection of sheet metal fabrication, casting techniques and the unique possibilities that arise from their combination. My experimentation focused on the manipulation of the flow of molten aluminum to effectively capture and integrate sheet metal and machined components within a casting, resulting in a permanent connection. Through this innovative manufacturing approach, I hope to create more functional objects that push the boundaries of traditional design and fabrication methods, offering new and compelling solutions in the realm of manufacturing.
FEATURED Work
Title: Torii
Dimensions: 48 x 15 x 11 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Aluminum, Brass. Aluminum cast around brass sheets and aluminum pipe
Title: Torii
Dimensions: 48 x 15 x 11 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Aluminum, Brass. Aluminum cast around brass sheets and aluminum pipe
Title: Torii
Dimensions: 48 x 15 x 11 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Aluminum, Brass. Aluminum cast around brass sheets and aluminum pipe
Flora Chubbs
BIO
Flora May is an artist, writer, and woodworker residing in Toronto, Ontario. She is of Inuit and settler ancestry, living and creating between NunatuKavut territory in Labrador, and St. John’s, Newfoundland. She received her Diploma in Textile Arts from College of the North Atlantic (2018) and her Honours Bachelor of Craft and Design Furniture at Sheridan College (2023).
Flora has led various youth programming ranging from weaving to hand embroidery, and assists in creating arts curricula for grades K-6. She has led adult workshops in quilting and embroidery at galleries and Indigenous community centres. Manifested in her community work, Flora's goal is to produce craft while creating a safe and exciting space for Indigenous youth to create and enjoy art.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
HOME BY MOURNING: CRAFT AS SENTIMENT
Home by Mourning: Craft as Sentiment is a multidisciplinary approach to creating furniture in response to grief. My goal is to represent how a craftsperson can honour the deceased, while creating an environment that facilitates storytelling around grief, life, and love.
FEATURED Work
Title: Heirloom Chest
Dimensions: 36 x 14 x 15.5 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Pine, Acrylic paint, Wool rope handles, Iron hardware
Title: Heirloom Chest, detail
Dimensions: 36 x 14 x 15.5 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Pine, Acrylic paint, Wool rope handles, Iron hardware
Title: Raspberry Panel Detail (Heirloom Chest)
Dimensions: 8 x 4 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Pine, Acrylic paint
Title: Log Cabin Quilt
Dimensions: 65 x 65 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Cotton and linen fabrics, Procion MX dye, wool batting, cotton thread
Title: Log Cabin Quilt
Dimensions: 65 x 65 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Cotton and linen fabrics, Procion MX dye, wool batting, cotton thread
Jinduo Cui
BIO
I am a young textile artist from China. I like to find inspiration in history and always remain passionate about my field. In the future, I hope to devote myself to the sustainable development and expression of the textile field, to continue exploring new possibilities in the textile field, and hope that people will benefit from my projects and artworks.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
THE RED OCEAN
The Red Ocean is a project inspired by the human impact of the late Rococo era fashion and industrial revolution, expressing the designers' unease with the current warming and acidification of the oceans in terms of the relationship between human activity and ocean health. The project contains elements such as rococo fashion, waves and sea life, lung vessels with tumors and face masks. Through them, the designer wants to express that human activities are affecting the ocean and the planet as the center, and to tell people that the ocean is sick.Thus, people are urged to pay attention to the ocean's warming and acidification, and to form an awareness of ocean protection.
FEATURED Work
Title: The Red Ocean
Dimensions: 170 x 90 x 90 cm
Year: 2023
Materials: Materials: Silk Velvet, Wool, Ice Dub, Silk Fiber, Organza, Sheer Fabric, Metallic Threads, Linen, Nylon Cotton, Beads. Techniques: Velvet Devore, Wet Felting, Embroidery
Title: The Red Ocean
Dimensions: 170 x 90 x 90 cm
Year: 2023
Materials: Materials: Silk Velvet, Wool, Ice Dub, Silk Fiber, Organza, Sheer Fabric, Metallic Threads, Linen, Nylon Cotton, Beads. Techniques: Velvet Devore, Wet Felting, Embroidery
Title: The Red Ocean, detail
Dimensions: 170 x 90 x 90 cm
Year: 2023
Materials: Materials: Silk Velvet, Wool, Ice Dub, Silk Fiber, Organza, Sheer Fabric, Metallic Threads, Linen, Nylon Cotton, Beads. Techniques: Velvet Devore, Wet Felting, Embroidery
Title: The Red Ocean, detail
Dimensions: 170 x 90 x 90 cm
Year: 2023
Materials: Materials: Silk Velvet, Wool, Ice Dub, Silk Fiber, Organza, Sheer Fabric, Metallic Threads, Linen, Nylon Cotton, Beads. Techniques: Velvet Devore, Wet Felting, Embroidery
Title: The Red Ocean
Dimensions: 170 x 90 x 90 cm
Year: 2023
Materials: Materials: Silk Velvet, Wool, Ice Dub, Silk Fiber, Organza, Sheer Fabric, Metallic Threads, Linen, Nylon Cotton, Beads. Techniques: Velvet Devore, Wet Felting, Embroidery
Dana Dallal
BIO
Based in Toronto Ontario, Dana Dallal is an emerging ceramic artist. Growing up, Dana spent countless summer days harvesting bounty from her grandparent’s backyard, cycling around town alone, and exploring every nook and cranny of her parent’s fresh cut flower warehouse. When she wasn’t exploring these magical places, she could be found inside her grandmother’s workroom, sewing dresses for her dolls and Barbies from the tender age of six. Dana has a habit of becoming sentimentally attached to objects because to her they contain memories that would otherwise be lost.
Before studying ceramics at Sheridan College, Dana trained as a Fashion Designer at Toronto Metropolitan University and The London College of Fashion. She spent ten years working for luxury designer labels in the UK in a variety of creative roles. After returning to Canada with her young family, she started taking evening pottery classes and became completely engrossed. She quickly left her old career behind to pursue this new path. Dana’s work now explores how personal memories become distorted over time. She creates sculptures and vessels that reference her colourful and creative childhood.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
PIECES ARTICULATED
I create sculptural objects and functional vessels that contain personal memories. I use a broad and subtle palette of colored slip painted in layers to illustrate silhouettes of flowers and leaves. The botanical surfaces, with graphic, geometric elements recall time I spent in my family’s floral warehouse, among tightly bundled blooms kept in cylindrical buckets and rectangular boxes. Memories are only accessible in bits and pieces, and are difficult to recreate as a whole. I layer images to communicate the poetic ephemeral world where memories come into sharp focus or recede into the background, obscuring or highlighting parts of our past. My work suggests the complex and multidimensional nature of memory, as it distorts and changes over time.
FEATURED Work
Title: Sunset Blossoms
Dimensions: 27 x 15 x 17 in.
Year: 2022
Materials: Stoneware, Slips, Glazes
Title: Lidded Boxes
Dimensions: 16 x 7 x 10 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Stoneware, Slips, Glazes
Title: Piece 3
Dimensions: 16 x 7 x 10 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Stoneware, Slips, Glazes
Alice Dawson
BIO
Alice Dawson is a Canadian artist that uses ceramics to explore complicated feelings of being human, the intimacy of looking inward to evolve and the act of sharing oneself with the outside world. She views self-reflection as an intimate ritual and studies how to communicate the private process of picking over memories through sculptural iterations—investigating the vulnerable and complicated emotions of tracing tangled lines of memory. Her current series of works “Looking Inside” expresses the disjointed and fragile feeling of opening yourself up and looking inside. From these feelings, she creates uncanny and surreal objects that evolve as new revelations about the self are discovered and uncovered.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
UNTIL I'M BONES
In this body of work, I explore self-reflection and how to communicate the intimate process of picking over memories through sculptural iterations—investigating the vulnerable and complicated emotions of opening yourself up and looking inside.
FEATURED Work
Title: All the Things I Hold Inside
Dimensions: 15 x 30 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Dark stoneware, glaze, ink
Title: Ideation
Title: Cluster
Dimensions: 8 x 10 in.
Year: 2022
Materials: Stoneware
Title: Ideation 2
Title: Ideation 3
Joel Galenkamp
BIO
Joel Galenkamp, is an emerging furniture maker and designer from Sheridan College's Craft and Design Program. As a maker, Joel aims to represent his values and contemplations through the objects and spaces he creates. Although Joel's primary focus is furniture, he looks to architecture, sculpture and installation art to construct an apt container for an idea.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
QUIET RESISTANCE
Quiet Resistance is a collection of furniture that embodies Joel Galenkamp's approach to balancing our engagement with Virtual and Real Life. He engages in the processes of design and making to imbue the Real Life values of Stillness, Nature, Relationships and Imperfection into four pieces of furniture. Through this body of work, Joel seeks to create a catalyst for connecting with Real Life through the piece's functionality, and compelling visual nature.
FEATURED Work
Title: Quiet Resistance
Dimensions: various
Year: 2023
Materials: Reclaimed Cedar and Douglas Fir, Soapstone, Alabaster
Title: Windbrace Chair
Dimensions: 26 x 26 x 28 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Reclaimed Cedar Windbrace, Waxed Canvas
Title: Windbrace Chair
Dimensions: 26 x 26 x 28 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Reclaimed Cedar Windbrace, Waxed Canvas
Title: Timberframe Table
Dimensions: 12 x 26 x 12 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Reclaimed Douglas Fir Timber, Soapstone
Title: Caskhouse Light
Dimensions: 15 x 12 x 50 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Reclaimed Cedar Post, Alabaster
Title: Quiet Resistance
Dimensions: various
Year: 2023
Materials: Reclaimed Cedar and Douglas Fir, Soapstone, Alabaster
Sofia Garces-Vasquez
BIO
I strive to create functionally driven products and improve the overall quality of life. By implementing environmentally friendly practices, I strive to design products or services for the betterment of humanity.
I am unique in my execution because of my attention to detail. To achieve the best result, I always try to become an expert on the subject, product, or service that I’m designing. My work speaks for itself in this regard, as you can see the care and extra attention put into each piece. My final products come from a place of passion and pride. I want people to see me as a talented creator. I want to design unique products and make a genuine and positive impact on the world. I want to provide society with inspiration, interaction, and joy.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
GRIP GAINERS
My capstone project aims to redesign the handle grips found at the gym to improve the user’s hand-to-object interaction during physical exercise. Handle grips are currently made from materials that are not durable or biodegradable therefore they create a lot of waste and harm to the environment. My goal was to find an alternative that better attains comfort, safety, and durability while working toward a more sustainable future.
FEATURED Work
Title: Grip Gainers
Dimensions: 3.5 dia. x 4 x 2 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: 3D Printed
Title: Grip Gainers
Dimensions: 3.5 dia. x 4 x 2 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: 3D Printed
Title: Grip Gainers, detail
Dimensions: 3.5 dia. x 4 x 2 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: 3D Printed
Title: Grip Gainers, detail
Dimensions: 3.5 dia. x 4 x 2 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: 3D Printed
Jiawen Gu
BIO
I am a glass artist who likes to do flameworking. Most of the time, I made narrative artwork and express my feelings and emotions through my art work. I would like people to have a comfortable and peaceful experience with my work. Hopefully, the viwers find a little warmth from my work.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
THE MOONLIGHT FLOWS
This project “The moonlight flows” helps me find inner peace after going through the Covid-19 pandemic. As an international student studying abroad, this artwork evokes my nostalgia and gives me courage to carry on with life. This project is intended to help people find inner peace and memorial for the lost ones.
FEATURED Work
Title: The Moonlight Flows
Dimensions: 60 x 80 cm
Year: 2023
Materials: Glass
CONTACT
JIAWEN GU
She/Her
Helene Hadfield
BIO
As an artist, I draw inspiration from the natural world and the dynamic relationship between form and texture. My creations showcase tactile surfaces and abstract paintings that offer viewers new discoveries with each observation.
Although my working with clay was a later development in my creative journey, I have spent years exploring various mediums. Craft and Design at Sheridan College helped me gain the technical and aesthetic skills to shape my artistic voice.
I am now thrilled to be starting the MFA program at USF, where I will continue to refine my craft and further explore my artistic vision.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
MY HEART BELONGS TO CORNWALL
My work reflects my love for exploration, whether it be hiking, traveling, tinkering or experimenting. Ceramics, with its intricacies and dimensions, provides endless opportunities to explore the chemistry of clay, the complexities of glazes, and the stories that can be told through each piece. I draw inspiration from the ideas of permanence and ancestral memories that live within the land and strive to find the balance between optimism and realism amidst the current climate of uncertainty.
"My Travels on the Southwest Coast Path," is a personal journey inspired by my hike along the Cornwall coast of England. I hiked while dealing with extremely challenging health concerns and the journey became a powerful experience of self-discovery, reflection, and triumph. My work in this series reflects that journey, teetering between the rocky and the bleak, but always with an inner resolve that things will be “okay”.
FEATURED Work
Title: Becoming Real
Dimensions: 17 x 17 x 5 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Black clay, engobe, underglaze, glaze
Title: Climb Every Mountain
Dimensions: 40 x 40 x 10 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Black clay, inclusions, engobe, underglaze, glaze
Title: Down by the River to Play
Dimensions: 35 x 25 x 6 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Black clay, inclusions, engobe, underglaze, glaze
Title: I See You in My Dreams
Dimensions: 30 x 25 x 5 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Black clay, inclusions, engobe, underglaze, glaze
Title: It Takes a Village
Dimensions: 17 x 12 x 12 in.
Year: 2023
Materials: Black clay, inclusions, engobe, underglaze, glaze
Title: What Lies Beneath
Dimensions: 17 x 17 x 5 in.
Year: 2022
Materials: Black clay, inclusions, engobe, underglaze, glaze